There’s no reason to give up hope. No reason to give up dreams. Meaningful contributions are within the reach of every man. Unfortunately, too many people gauge their success by what other people have, what others have done, or what others are doing.

I had a high school buddy who loved to drag race. He had a fast car. But I remember telling him, “There’s always somebody with a faster car.” So it is with accomplishment or success. Your success isn’t determined by besting somebody else. Your hope doesn’t rest with what somebody else will give you. It rests within your determination and ability to make wise choices…and to take action. Behaving in honorable ways, doing the right thing and working hard have intrinsic value.

The ingredients for success are within our reach – even if circumstances, environment and resources aren’t ideal. Sometimes, people have to overcome enormous adversity to simply survive. Is that you? Not likely. It’s more likely that you’re having to overcome your own destructive thoughts and behaviors. Be thankful you’re not fighting for sheer survival every day of your life. Millions are.

Is everybody built for greatness? What is greatness anyway? A man who responsibly supports a family, raises wise children and loves his wife is behaving with greatness. So is the woman struggling to raise children alone by taking on every menial job available. Millions of people get up every day committed to the hard work of doing what must be done.

There’s value in doing what we must do. In doing what must be done. It’s honorable. It’s right.

Today’s special episode was recorded outside The Yellow Studio thanks to the portable technology of a digital audio recorder and a field microphone. I recorded this episode to provide some small spark of hope.

I’d love to hear your feedback. You can use the contact form on the feedback page, the podcast feedback line or Twitter.